


In Love and War

by PrinceBow



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Catra (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Catra (She-Ra) Redemption, Domestic Fluff, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Love, M/M, Mama Catra, Other, Poor Catra (She-Ra), Redemption, Tumblr: Catradora Week 2018, Turmoil, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings, evetually domestic Catradora, friends - Freeform, im not crying you’re crying, she-ra isn’t all good, show me your sketches, there is no good or evil only power, these kids need hugs, were all adults here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2019-09-29 09:46:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17201216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinceBow/pseuds/PrinceBow
Summary: It was never supposed to be like this. This was an accumulation of power. What they wanted was genocide. Those who couldn’t be indoctrinated were wiped clean. A blanket of darkness was what she wanted. An alliance of power. But when they came for her too... the whole system needed to be uprooted.





	1. Welcome to the Fright Zone

**Author's Note:**

> To be honest this chapter is supposed to be longer. And I’ll update it later, but.... I need it out of my head and Ive got errands to run today. I swear this will improve. I just needed it to be somewhere and actually commit to writing instead of small jumbled notes on my desk. So here we go.

It was as if a darkness loomed over the entire chamber. Droplets collected and dripped, ringing against hollow metal walls. A gentle hum rattled from the runestone. The pulses illuminated the chamber with a dull red hue and with every flicker of light, the Commander could see deeper into her own reflection.

The pool of water toyed with her sight below her. Each fade of light, her eyes glowed in the darkness. She concentrated on the ripples that flittered across the still surface. Each pulse of light shifted the water moreso. Shadows climbed and raced up the walls, escaping out of the cracks.

 _Catra_... the venom of her own name made her stomach churn.

It was the voice, the whisper. Almost as if the shadows on the wall melded in her mind. A thick bloody liquid dripped from thin matted fur into the small pool. Her claws scrapped into the hard mineral as the giant screen behind flickered with static. Lord Hordak’s pale face flashed onto the monitor.

“You’ve disappointed me today, Shadow Weaver.”

A slick smirk met Catra’s lips. Turning to face the massive screen, she discarded the stand balancing Shadow Weaver’s seer pool. Hordak focused down on the woman below. He took note of the rough nature she stood in. Somewhere, deep down, it made him smile pridefully. Small sections of her fur matted with what he couldn’t discern as her blood or something else. From the disarray in the room he guessed _someone_  else.

“We’ve all been disappointed today...” Catra’s voice was flat, even.

Like a scratching post, Catra dug her claws down the sides of the pulsing runestone. The crystal revolted back sparking painfully against her. It hummed brighter. Lightening arced red streaks across the room, not a shadow hidden.

It was a disaster in the chamber. In a slump on the far wall, laid a broken corpse. Shadow Weaver was a feeble woman without her magic. Her robes were torn, mask was shattered all over the floor, and the dark tendrils that had caused Catra such grief in her youth, were nothing more than shielding for the rather filthy display of the once witch.

“Commander Catra, you’ve returned?” Lord Hordak matched the feline’s tone. Metal fingertips drummed out of view on his throne. “I expected you to report back to me.”

A chuckle escaped while a growl lowered in her throat. Hordak’s small demon curled into his lap. Catra’s smirk expanded to a full grin. The pin that was the embodiment of her status flashed the same red as the Black Garnet. On a heel she rounded herself, gracefully finding footing on a pipe higher up on the wall. The room was bare to Hordak’s view.

“Oh milord,” Catra cooed removing the pin, “your expectations are no longer my concern.”

—————  
The crash of ceramic echoed between the fine crack in the door.

“Dammit Adora.”

Bow lowered his hand where he had attempted to knock and forced his best friend’s door open.

“Dammit Bow!”

Glimmer wasn’t one for swearing, but the night had carried onto the day and she simply didn’t have the energy. With a gasp Adora pulled the sheets to cover her bare body. At least the front that Bow could see. His carmel skin burned a flushed pink.

“S-sorry. I’m so sorry” he stuttered turning round and fixing the door closed.

He could hear the rustling of Glimmer’s bedding as Adora tried to cover more of herself. Not that she cares if Bow saw her naked but-

“If you get blood on my covers one more time....”  
the princess sounded more than tired. Past a brink of exhaustion.

Bow made himself useful and once again worked to tidy Glimmer’s room. The bowl that had shattered on the floor splashed over the half dresser. He collected remnants.

“I’m sorry...” Adora met Bow’s apologies. “Ah-“

Gimmer pressed wraps against Adora’s war torn shoulder. Yet another list of scars by the Horde. And she was never the good patient. Glimmer mumbled obscenities between her teeth. There was a startling silence that fell over the room. It brought a shiver over Adora's skin. Bow forced a half smile looking up to his friends.

The war was weighing on the young adults. They won most of their defenses- most.. They couldn’t bring the strategies to attack. The Horde’s reach was far wider than She-ra could travel in a day. At this point they we’re scrambling for vantage points.

“The list came in.” Bow’s voice was dry.

Adora sighed, her eyes closed. Glimmer forced down the sickening feeling that was rising in her stomach. “Bow....” she tightened the wraps, Adora winced. “Not now...”

“How many.” Adora’s voice was barely a whisper.

There was silence again. Bow tried to mute a sniffle.

“Your mother wants to speak with us.”

It certainly couldn’t be good. Glimmer straightened her shoulders and blinked down closer to Bow. Her eyes were soft. Bow’s head hung low. They melded into an embrace that pained Adora’s heart. This wasn’t right. This wasn’t even just...or fair... or...

Adora collected her shirt and shimmed into it. She wondered if they knew of the guilt she couldn’t swallow. Every loss. Every heart break. All of it reverberated Light Hope back into her mind. She shook her head clear of the memories. With careful steps she made her way down to her friend’s embrace, holding them tight enough it ached in her wounds.


	2. Light

Light filtered from great standing windows into the war room. A map of all Etheria filled the table at the center. The dips and valleys across the holographic map cast shadows in real time while lakes and oceans shimmered in the daylight. Her brow creased in concentration, Queen Angella studied along the map. Books lined her edge of the table and one would wonder just how long she had been in the room.

The mid day moon finally lit the gem engraved in the seat beside her. The perfect placement of the King’s chair was always a reminder of brighter days-even if darkness falls. Around the table, of course, sat the leaders of this rebellion. The Princess Alliance. Those in attendance physically were those who lived nearest to Bright Moon. The rest, thankfully, had new communications running.

Bow, Glimmer, and Adora were seated nearest to the Queen. Glimmer circled her temples with her forefingers, fatigue gaining favor over her. The more the discussion continued, the harder her head pounded. Adora sank further in her chair. Each word hanging from the Queen’s lips was another block on her shoulders. Queen Angela’s voice carried, hollow. It ricocheted back from the walls. The more towns she listed... the more cities that have fallen...the more civilians...

To Adora, everything seemed to fade far away. Sounds diluted to muffled whispers, she could hardly discern Perfumia’s sobs. Her heart thudded in her ears.

Fire bombs fell...

Entire society razed....

No survivors.....

Adora couldn’t bare the grief that washed over her. To heal and restore. If she couldn’t protect these people then what was She-ra good for? There was a blinding crush of guilt that made her stomach ache and her eyes burn unshed tears. A fist slammed the table as she rose from her seat.

“No!” Her voice broke, “we have to strike back. We have to strike first!” She trembled with a rage. With determination to right the wrongs. She felt...responsible.

Silence fell over the room. Queen Angela’s lips pursed in a fine line, “What do you propose we do.”

She hadn’t expect that. She certainly didn’t think she would get this far let alone...for a moment words baffled her. “I-I.” Adora struggled to find the right thing to say.

Strategy was her niche. It was what she studied the most. She knew the ins and outs of the Horde’s movements- Hordak’s methods.

Frosta’s calm tone melted the room. “I’ll send my guards.”

Mermista raised her voice, “Mine as well.”

“We give rations for the She-ra battle.” Perfumia stifled her tears.

Adora seated herself, they provided the means, but for what. She scanned over the map. It flickered for an odd amount of time before snapping out of existence. The entrance way door had burst open. A pristine light followed through the doorway and barreling in was an uneasy guardsman.

“Your Majesty, the Runestone.”

Eyes darted around the room as each hologram capturing each Princess shimmered and blinked out much like the map had.

* * *

 

The air ducts were small and Catra couldn’t fathom why a Princess would choose to travel throughout the Fright Zone by them. She had mapped this perfectly. Two turns, another straight away, and she would be clear on a skiff out of the fire. Literally.

As another explosion rattled off, it shook the whole duct Catra wormed through. The metal was getting hotter under her claws. Alarms wailed louder, echoing into her steel entrapment. Almost there. She rounded another turn, startled that base had dropped out-no ripped out... It appeared to be shredded by gunfire. She wished she hadn’t looked down. This was the straight away to freedom alright. Over the cell blocks that dropped several hundred feet to the pits of whatever founded the Fright Zone. Catra dug her claws into the loosening metal hoisting herself across. The duct creaked. She stilled.

There were soldiers yelling below. Some she even recognized. This was total chaos. Catra smiled. It faded as the faint ticking made her ear flicker. The sound was deafening. The ringing that followed almost made her delusional. The metal under her buckled and she raced to grip onto the side. In that moment she learned a valuable lesson. Never look down.

Maybe it was grace that guided the movement-maybe luck had finally sided with the feline. She launched herself from the falling trap, her body colliding into the top level floor. The force however was enough to make it unstable. It practically crumbled at the contact.

Dangling on the remaining edge her feet clawed for ground. There was none to be found. Guards raced by securing their own safety. The force fields holding in any captors released. Her muscles began to ache as she fought for some kind of leverage. Nothing. The floor she clung to shuddered. This wasn’t how she thought she would go out. As her grip began to slip someone else’s tightened on her. She was hauled to her feet.

“You’ll die when I’ve had enough of kicking your ass.” Lonnie smirked as she was nose to nose with Catra, pulling her away from the edge.

Relief became a fleeting feeling as debris continued to fall. The center control column shifted. The sound of yelling faded. Even the alarm’s blaring tones cut short. Dread began to take place in the pit of Catra’s stomach. The clock was ticking and she knew it. Emergency lights flooded the chamber. Any moment the entire floor would collapse.

Catra gripped the front of Lonnie’s jacket forcing the woman back against the wall. The ceiling collapsed in a roar of fire, sweeping away sections on their opposing side. “I-I don’t understand-“

Catra felt the vibrations in the pads of her feet. She was running out of time. They all were. She gritted her teeth as she pulled Lonnie against the wall. There was an opening to another side of the complex. One that was more stable than the chaos around them. “Catra...”, the commander forced the cadet through.

In a flickering moment she growled back, “You need to get out.” This was a last order to her team. A final mission.

Lonnie pulled toward her, trying take her with. The cell block was filling with smoke. Wires snapped loose and walls crumbled. There wasn’t enough time. Above the women an unsupported beam finally succumbed to the mounting weight. Catra’s vision locked on the debris. Lonnie scanned her uniform devoid of its signet pin. “You’ve been fighting dirty.”

There was no time. “I leveled the field.”

Catra shoved the woman as far as she could, ripping the grip that was on her clothing before the beam crashed through the floor. It created a void neither dared to cross. The jarring motion caused the remaining floor to begin its inevitable collapse and Catra raced against gravity to find some way out. The smoke grew thicker. Some amount of hope grew dimmer. And with a leap she held her breath to make it outside. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally have some kind of planning going on for this. Typically these are written at my desk while I’m at work and then transferred to digital so it may take some time for each chapter to be copied and copied and... well. This should be the last chapter with the cutscenes to each of them. Thanks for reading!


	3. Silence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this took so long and it’s a lot. But! It’s a trip. Life has been crazy and I’m back on the wagon. New content to keep me going!

Bright moon’s afternoons were nothing less than breathtaking. Their primary moon was just passing its highest point in the day. Adora’s hand felt hot on the cool marble railing as she stood out on the balcony overlooking the Whispering Woods. There was silence. Peaceful, perfect silence. It unnerved her as in the distance she could see the turn of smoke. Though the outer wall of the castle was adorned with beautiful flowers, thanks to Princess Perfumia of course, she could practically smell the acrid poisonous air of the Fright Zone.

Adora swallowed harshly, gulping down her own bitter memories. Something had happened. Something she was determined to find out.

Glimmer joined her mother at Bright Moon’s rune-stone. The burning light has dimmed, but the furrowed brow of the queen didn’t make the young woman hope for good news. To be perfectly honest she felt fantastic after the surge. It was as if she had just recharged only the feeling continued to linger. She was even tempted to teleport as far as she could to see if she could make it back. Tempted. Almost...

“There is an imbalance...” Queen Angella murmured.

“From another rune-stone? Or from...where?”

The Queen finally broke her concentration on the rune-stone. Her concern fluttered for a moment as she met her daughter’s eyes. A tight smile grazed her lips, “I haven’t the faintest idea.” She wrapped her arms around Glimmer pulling her close. “Though I suppose you will find out.”

Before closing her eyes to rest her head on the others, Queen Angella could see an eager Bow racing to Adora on the war room balcony. She could see his quiver strapped and secured and the man frantically waving a scanner at the woods beyond. Even if she disagreed with their journey, she couldn’t prevent it.

_________________________________

“For the honor of Grayskull!”

The chatter of wood side stilled at the flash of light. There was an insurmountable joy in the transition. The fire that lit beneath her boots sparked sensational ripples throughout her body. It was like unrelenting adrenaline.

Small birds began their song, filling the distance with a whistle that carried over the trio’s discussion. They debated the cause of the surge. Bow could barely contain his boiling excitement. His voice escalated in volume and range. But the further they walked the more alert She-ra became.

“What if it’s a trick?” Glimmer questioned.

She-ra led the way ahead. She couldn’t shake the feeling. Something was wrong. It nagged at every step, every shifting leaf in the wind. There was a feeling of being watched, more than the usual trigger alerts the woods provided. Bow and Glimmer’s voices carried louder, bouncing among the tree line.

“What if it’s a trap...?” Bow whispered.

She could smell it first. The fire. The stark burning smell that was too familiar. With her sword, she pushed past the brush. It stopped her dead in her tracks and could hear her heartbeat thumping in her ears. _What...if?_

Glimmer teleported before colliding with the tall warrior. Bow notched an arrow as She-ra held a finger to her lips. The slightest pull of his bowstring was amplified in the periling silence. Trees had been uprooted and shattered making an unnatural clearing. “Why is it quiet?” She whispered.

They divided following the outskirts of the crumbling foliage. A very broad tree was practically cleaved in half. She-ra thumbed along the edge of the splintering wood. She followed the path of the damage and sighed heavily. There in contrast to the folding forest was plated cold metal embedded, crashed, in the forest floor. Were there survivors? Was this planned? Is... is it a trap?

The team remained cautious. She-ra, of course, being the first to approach the extraordinarily wrecked skiff. _No you drove it into a tree!_ The small hairs at the nap of Bow’s neck tingled as he scanned the tree line. A gentle breeze ruffled through leaves and he shivered.

Branded across the hull was the traditional wings painted boldly in red. She-ra sneered at the marks, her fingertips following the delicate outline. A contradiction sparked in her. There was barely a distinguished line between She-ra and Adora. Most times it went unnoticed. It benefited Adora. But there were some good regards she held for her old home. Evil still being evil it made She-ra less than pleased.

“Adora!”

Gears whirled inside the skiff and the back end unlatched. From the inside the wreckage rolled a strange machine the team had yet to encounter. Bow, caught in his own curiosity, moved to touch it. The machine didn’t stand too tall and honestly appeared innocent enough. It vibrated with a low hum and a small monitor pulsed with a soft green light.

In the instance his fingertips brushed against the keys, a blinding light flooded the forest. The team shielded their eyes as the light summed into a thin red scanner. An uneasy pit sank in She-ra’s stomach. She lunged, barreling Bow away from the device. For a moment there was a rumbling. Just a moment.

Shadows shifted inside the skiff. Glimmer gripped tighter to her father’s staff and with a deep breath she honed a small blast firing it into the skiff. The energy shimmered against the back wall sparkling life into the lurking shadows and she locked eyes with a mirrored image of herself, dark and distorted.

“Glimmer...no-“ She-ra rushed to her feet, hauling Bow up in one hand.

The dark mass inhabiting the skiff split. It emulated Glimmer’s power, fighting back with an energy that sizzled as it fired. A blast of unholy dark matter rammed into the Bright Moon princess knocking her off her feet with such a force she didn’t have time to teleport.

Bow notched an arrow, “Here we go.”

The shadow of Glimmer charged towards the fallen princess. Drawing his arrow back, Bow fixed into the moving target. It certainly met its mark, but continued to pass through. The Shadow warped like smoke, changing shape and morphing to copy Bow. It mimicked his physique perfectly and Glimmer could even make out the ripple of muscle as it drew a bow. She swept the staff of Micah through the creature unable to catch anything.

From the treetops a whip snapped around Bow’s ankle yanking him to the forest floor as a dark arrow whizzed past him. A weight pounced onto him and all he could define was blue and yellow eyes.

“Catra...” bracing with her sword, She-ra growled.

It itched under Adora’s skin to see the Horde Commander. If she didn’t think it was a set up before, she sure did now. The Shadow pummeled onto Glimmer driving It’s bow to her windpipe pinning her under the force. Catra sprang forward yelling, “Don’t!”

Glimmer phased out, teleporting past the tree line, and coughing endlessly. The Shadow warped once more reacting with new powers It had been exposed to. Catra came nose to nose with the princess copy. The grin that twisted on It’s face brought a deep rumbling at the base of Catra’s throat. The claws of her feet dug into the soft dirt. She had seen this creature as just a plan.

It would swing. She would passively dodge. Round and round.

“What is that thing?” Bow questioned enthralled in the ease of the feline’s movements.

She-ra shifted in her boots to approach and heterochromatic eyes pierced into her very soul, a silent threat. The feline side stepped the swipe of her opponent’s staff. She raised a single finger to the approaching warrior and repeated. “I said don’t.”

“It mimics.” She-ra lowered her weapon a shock spreading across her face. “It mimics the way we fight.”

In small rotations the duo circled each other slowly backing to the tree side. “Maybe-“ Catra chuckled, “that tiara isn’t as tight as I thought.”

At the tree line there hung a low branch. Catra took advantage of the height nimbly springing into the woods. With a look over her shoulder, she locked eyes with She-ra and for just a second the warrior could see a flash of fear. If she hadn’t know the feline for so long she would have missed it. She was playing some kind of game with the creature. _Cat and mouse_. Following the challenge, the shadow faded, reappearing in the trees to follow.

“The machine!” Glimmer shouted drawing She-ra out of her haze.

She ran to the device and struck down her staff against it. Inches from reaching the metal the machine revolted back sparking painfully against Glimmer.

“You get Catra.” She-ra murmured orders, “I’ll help Glimmer.”

Bow nodded, taking off into the woods. The machine hummed louder, the dull green light became a vibrant red. Sparks of electric energy formed a protective barrier around it as She-ra approached. Glimmer cast a disc shimmering outward as barreled into the shield. No effect. The blast disappeared, fading into the barrier.

“If we destroy this, we kill that-that _thing_ right?” The princess’ voice pitched, “Right?”

A golden glow lit around the warrior and she swung down her sword to the machine.

Further in the forest, Catra glided across treetops narrowly dodging shots from the Shadow. Her heart raced and fatigue was settling in. But above all else she couldn’t begin to understand what she was doing. Why she was here. Why did she stop. She needed to get out of this. Needed to get away. Out of Adora’s sight. Past the rebellion. On the outskirts of the Horde. She needed to keep out of the war. Just her and-

“Catra!” Bow shrieked.

Her foot caught on a loose branch and it broke under her weight. Thankfully she caught the trunk, her claws digging into the bark. Catra heard it before the feeling sank in. The quick snap of a bow and a searing pain shredded through her shoulder before the dark arrow faded by the breeze. She lost her grip sliding helplessly down the tree. Bow scrambled to help her to her feet, but the feline brushed off his hand. “Back off.”

Red streaked down her arm and the tips of her fingers tingled. Ripping the end of her pant she sucked in a sharp breath, “No matter what don’t fight back.”

Bow gripped an arrow in his quiver, “But-“

Catra growled tightening the cloth around her bleeding wound, “It’s a learning program. It’ll only get worse.”

Her ears flickered at the familiar sound and she shoved him back harshly, another dark arrow split between them.

_________________________________

The sword of Protection clobbered hard into the sparkling barrier. It buffered with electric webs and She-ra struck again, the shield warped around the weapon, buckling at the weight. Joining the warrior’s effort, Glimmer pummeled her staff into the force field, an electric pulse coiled down the shaft.

It burned into her skin, but she refused to let go. Darkness swirled in the skiff once more. The patterns it created blurred Adora’s memories of Shadow Weaver torturing Catra when she was young, when they were so young. Undistinguishable shadows morphed into familiar faces clawing their way to the duo. She-ra ground her teeth, driving back her blade and finally piercing the barrier.

The remnants shattered like glass. The shadowy mass grew into a mounting void cascading into a wall towing over the pair. Like something from nightmares, the mass clawed out with disembodied hands and arms. Glimmer released her staff pulling as much energy she could and twinkling light gathered around in her, manifesting swirls at her fingertips. She projected it forward, out of her space, matching the overwhelming size of the wall. Shadowy hands sizzled back against the light.

It was beautiful. Almost as if a blanket of stars glittered across the darkness. As it grew in strength it never staggered pushing back the void almost consuming it whole.

She-ra drove her sword into the pit of the machine. It sparked in a fire, hissing in protest. With a flex she ripped the blade across before colliding down, shredding the device in half and into pieces. Glimmer’s power engulfed the wall of darkness, snuffing out the trailing smoke with an obliterating light. In a snap it was over. It was done. The princesses sighed in relief. Finally.

The machine split and collapsed as She-ra faded back into Adora. “We are _not_ going to tell your mom.”

The duo laughed harder than Adora had intended, but the peace felt too good. A victory. For once. Proof they could do this. Picking back up her father’s staff, Glimmer looked for Bow to laugh to. Her stomach dropped, “Bow.”

Without hesitation she was bolting into the woods. Her heart raced and more than anything it angered her. Bow was a fighter, no doubt, but he was alone with an unknown creature and a leader of the Horde! She couldn’t lose him. She couldn’t lose someone else.

Adora chased after the princess calling out to try and reel her back some. Partway into the wood side Glimmer froze. Branches were cracked and crumbled at the base of a tree. Deep trenches had been marked down the side. Adora’s breath caught.

“Do you think...”, the blonde’s voice was quiet as she followed a trail of blood. The shadow...didn’t bleed...

“Bow!” Glimmer screamed, blinking out of plain she stood in.

The Bright Moon princess never handled panic well. One would brush it off as an extraordinary love for her friend, but in a moment, in this moment, she was solely bound to find her friend, her _best friend_ , alive and-

There was nothing that could have prepared Adora as she rounded the tree side . Nothing anyone could say. No amount of training could stop the retch that raised in her chest. She’d seen a causality of war. The wounded of civilian and solider. Not one she recognized. Not one she had held onto so closely.

“S-stop just-“ Catra’s claws sank deeper into the muscle of Bow’s forearm, she hissed through clenched teeth.

His hands were pressed tightly down on the feline’s stomach, a feather arrow still stuck under her ribcage. A solid arrow. One of Bow’s arrows. Adora couldn’t lid the anger that fired off.

“You shot her.” The blonde stated flatly, kneeling beside them, “You-you just...shot...”

She could still see his face wet with tears and he tried desperately to clear his voice. Adora’s mind whirled in a hope to find a solution, but by the amount of blood wetting her friend’s hand she couldn’t- she couldn’t think straight.

A smirk lit across Catra’s face before a groan took over, “One hell of a reunion...”

It had been weeks since the two had seen each other across a battlefield. Months since they had been up close with outrageous comebacks. And it felt like years since they could come this close to each other without a threat. Bow was focused on the wound, trying to find words at all for a plan to move forward.

“What are you doing here Catra?” Glimmer was practically spiting an awful taste of hate in her mouth.

“Look if we-“ Bow’s voice broke, “maybe I can just...just force it the rest of the way through-we-we can snap of the head and get you stitched back up.”

Adora was caught like a deer in headlights, just staring over her ex friend, her enemy. She looked tired, covered in dirt that the blonde was sure hadn’t come from her fight here. And just brushing enough to see under the tied off cloth, Adora recognized a brand that had been marked into her skin. A brand only the Horde gave an elite group. It puffed like a fresh scar. Newly healed.

The world swirled in a nauseating blur for Catra. She fished a hand for something, anything to hold onto. She found Adora’s hand. They gripped tightly to one another and all Adora could feel was how cold the tips of her fingers were. In a snap focus Catra came crashing back to see those oh so blue eyes, they welled with tears.

“If you take it out she’ll only bleed faster...” Glimmer’s voice rang in a distant distorted sound.

Adora tried to breathe, “Then what do we do.”

Catra chuckled darkly. “Let me go.” She groaned. With every heart beat a pain throbbed through her core.

Black spots swirled in her vision and she tilted her head back to feel the ground. She couldn’t focus on the grip she held. In a moment she knew this would be over. In a few breaths she would be out cold. Adora curled closer bringing the smaller framed woman into her lap. Bow refused to let go. Glimmer couldn’t bare to watch.

“I did it. I took the arrow. He shot...it teleported back. I-“

It felt like a strange understanding. Up until now she really didn’t think far enough ahead to imagine what it would be like to simply not be anymore. Like this time she really could give up. She didn’t like the feeling it came with. They didn’t deserve her confession, but still they tumbled from her lips. Anything to get that pathetic sadness off Adora’s face.

“I did it. I blew up the Black Garnet.” The laugh radiated through her, she couldn’t stop, “I finally blew it up.”

The tears finally fell for Adora. Unabashedly they rolled down her cheeks and she smiled for Catra. They had come searching for answers. And the answer was snarky and sarcastic. Beautiful and stubborn. Strong and... _dying_. Catra nuzzled into Adora’s arm where she was cradled. It warmed her with some amount of comfort.

“H-hey Adora.” She sounded too weak, too fragile.

Adora pressed into that wild mane of hair and she could smell the fire. She really had done it.

“No more crying, Adora.” She laughed once more, the sound almost like panting, clinging to air.

Adora found her voice. “No dying then, Catra.”

“No promises.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh...no...
> 
> Someone come holler at me about She-ra @Princebow1 leave a comment, kudos, all the things. It makes me entire day and I would really appreciate it.


	4. Twilight

It was dark. Pitch black even. No sound other than the soft low putter pattern of water falling. It sounded as if it were raining. Every time it was always raining. But Catra could feel no wetness of it. Nothing. 

 

The first time she had come here, she was just a child. She had ran for what felt like days screaming, crying. This void became a vacuum, a numbing empty vacuum. Even in her childhood she fought like hell to get out. To wake up.

 

The cold burned into her bones. It constricted her chest, but she felt no need to breathe. She didn’t want to fight. For once. For this one time she wanted to give in. 

 

“Darlin’, what did I tell ya about comin’ back ‘ere?”

 

* * *

 

 

Locked doors never bothered Glimmer. The greatest benefit of teleporting throughout a castle was bouncing through rooms she wasn’t allowed. It wasn’t so much she wasn’t allowed this time as she needed to find the right words before rushing in. Somewhere...deep down Glimmer _ knew_ the grief her friends fought through. Something ached in the pit of her heart. 

 

When they had arrived in Bright Moon, Adora had made little sense. The blonde was completely inconsolable. They were sure they would have to sedate her to release the Horde solider. Bow hadn’t said a word. Glimmer wasn’t sure he could. 

 

It was alarming to say the least. The sound alone of Adora screams jarred Glimmer to her core. She had repeated Catra’s name on and on until nothing came out a all. Nothing Glimmer could say or do provided any different response. For forever it seemed to carry on. For forever she watched sparks of life die out her best friends’ eyes. 

 

She was unsure of when it happened. Her mother had stepped in. Adora was sealed to the bedside of where Catra laid. It was as if she was asleep. But... _no it wasn’t the same_. 

 

_________________________________

 

_ They had a plan. Or at least the foundations of a plan. It would have taken hours to walk back, let alone carry someone. No doubt She-ra could have ran. But they had a plan. The only fault was Adora didn’t consider the boiling anxiety in her chest.  _

_Bow, desperate for solutions, dug out the skiff reworking the mainframe for him to navigate it with his tracker pad. Adora struggled to keep Catra awake, aware. Glimmer struggled with a word to say._

 

* * *

 

 

 

“This life...is full of choices.” Her mother cooed, coiling her dark patterned tail around Catra’s forearm. 

 

The space they stood in was endless, but the feline felt caged in. She couldn’t shake the claustrophobia. It made her guts twist in panic. “You _do_ _ not_ get to lecture me about this.” the sound in her voice was biting. 

 

Unfazed by her tone, Catra’s mother stroked the small tuft behind the younger‘s ear. “Careful, kit. Ya don’ know just wha’ you’re givin’ up.”

 

Through the darkness she recognized the crying. The soft sad sound. The heartbreaking grief. The noise made her ears twitch. This was new. Never before had reality seemed to blend into whatever this world was in between. She tried desperately to move past it, closing her eyes to ignore it. Only a chorus of memories danced behind her eyelids. The flicker of days long ago enraged a flame she was sure she had sniffed out. Her life crescendoed from torment, battle, acceptance, and finally...finally accomplishment. 

 

The sobs melded into a soft mewl. A noise Catra wasn’t entirely familiar with but it dropped her heart in her stomach. It wasn’t fair. The cries were too new. Too young. Not a child, an infant. This was cheating. 

 

“Stop.” She was biting the inside of her cheek. “ _ Now. _ ”

 

* * *

 

 

Bright Moon’s civilians continued their day to day. The market peacefully sold wares big and small. Guards kept up their daily rounds. The whole of the city carried in without a hitch. Adora watched the peace with unbridled animosity. The simmering upset bothered her to her core, but she couldn’t let it go. 

 

It was like her whole world had been flipped on its head. As if the floor from under her crumbled and she was simply falling, unable to slow it down and certainly unable to stop it. Numbly the blonde had listened to Queen Angela’s advice. She had bathed. She had scrubbed the residual blood from her hands. She dressed in new cleaner attire. She could collect herself. She could glue herself back together. She could...

 

The pain hiccuped in her chest. She couldn’t convince herself to leave the room. It took everything for her to at least stop studying the feline, to face out of the tall window in the medbay. Adora could still feel the whispering breath of Catra on her lap. How exhausted she must have been. How brave. The whole way back to Bright Moon they joked about their childhood. Hidden humor she could never fully explain to Glimmer or Bow. Anything to keep Catra talking. Anything at all to convince her just to hang on. 

 

It hadn’t been enough. Adora knew that. Deep down she knew there wasn't very much that would have prevented it. In the final moments, she had traced over the brand through Catra’s fur. She needed an answer. She couldn’t fathom the one she got. At the time it had made her grin. But now... now it made her heart burn with a greater loss. 

 

Adora couldn’t bare to look at Bow let alone speak with him. She didn’t blame him for what happened. _She_ _didn’t_. Glimmer’s voice had been distant. The Queen’s comfort had been to corral her to sanity. Since the initial commotion when they had arrived, the medbay kept still. Suffocatingly silent. 

 

The entirety of reality just slipped so far away from Adora. Down through the bottomless pit she wasn’t sure she could swim out of. Her mind raced through countless battles, years of stand offs. Plenty of close calls. Death was always a possibility, but not once did Adora consider preparing for it. 

 

Very much unlike herself, Glimmer walked into the room. Her boots clicked and shuffled with every step on the floor. But she didn’t continue towards Adora. She froze at the bed. As much _ hatred_ she had towards the Horde she couldn’t lessen the sadness that washed over her while she looked over the wounded solider. A collection of wires and tubes ran from the woman’s limbs leading to machines that no longer prompted vitals. The flatline was haunting. The silence still moreso. 

 

Glimmer sighed heavily gripping into the railing at the end of the bed, the antiseptic smell flooding her sinuses. “We aren’t them...” she tried with every ounce of forgiveness to speak. “Bow told me what happened...what you did...” her voice shook as she weighed each word.

 

She looked about the room searching for an answer. Adora didn’t move, didn’t say a word. A knock resonated from the door frame. Glimmer snapped her attention to the entrance as Bow stepped inside the door. As he approached the bedside, she could see his nose was raw and his eyes were still puffy from tears. His clothes were stained and muddy from the day. 

 

“You...” the princess’ voice broke, “You saved _my_ best friend. And I-I can’t begin to forgive you or thank you or-or...” she looked to Adora who still hadn’t moved. “I just-“ her knuckles tightened on the railing. “I don’t understand why. What game you’re playing. Whether you planned every step. Whether you're just guessing like us. I  want  to believe you could do something so _selfless_ out of the kindness of your hea-“

 

**_ Beep _ **

 

A blip crossed the monitor. Then another. Glimmer’s words died in her throat. The small line raced across the screen. A deep exhale came from the woman in the bed. No one moved. No one could. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Terribly sorry about the delay. I've been in and out of the hospital recently, but I'm doing better now! And I am very excited about the next couple of chapters. I've got to get over the fear of this is a flop and just write. Y'all are in for treat next chapter. Hopefully it won't take me another month to get it posted.


	5. A matter of Time

The horizon line of the sky carried on until infinity. The simple break between Etheria and the cosmos beyond was nearly indistinguishable. Between the desert fields where just yards over the Whispering Woods towered high into the skyline, Scorpia paced nervously around a parked skiff. It was loaded with cargo. _Stolen_ cargo. This wasn't part of the plan.

"What if she's hurt?" Scorpia's voice bordered on panic. "I don't- I don't even know how we'd-"

On a pivot the tall woman rounded herself nose to nose with the Horde's favorite princess. Entrapta's grin spread wide across her face as her hair carried her from the gullet of the ship. Scorpia was near tears. Her lip quivering. "What if she isn't coming to us?"

Entrapta merely waved off the notion carrying crates of equipment out. Sweat beaded down her cheek once the material was scattered across the skiff deck. "Given my data track of Catra's 'almost missing' whereabouts, I'm proud to say with 87% accuracy... She's probably with Adora."

Scorpia's nostrils flared as she swept the princess high into her arms. "What does that mean?!"

Cackling with electric laughter, Entrapta sputtered speech between wiping her brow with the front of her overalls. "Nearly nine times out of ten Catra is chasing Adora."

The larger woman paused trying to calculate the math. She wasn't wrong, of course, but it didn't make her any happier. Entrapta leapt back to the skiff with a finger triumphantly in the air, "This is the perfect opportunity to test the bio scanners."

Gleefully she hopped into the belly of the ship again throwing a collection of tools in her wake.

* * *

 

Bright Moon's runestone pulsed in a consistent pattern. Bright enough to illuminate an elongated shadow of Queen Angella down the entrance way. Every pulse she could feel the rise of power it tried to balance out. Like a wave crashing on the beach, the tide growing rougher at each pass. A calm before a hurricane. She breathed it in. Angela would take the calm while it lasted. For as long as it would last.

Every nurse and doctor's first visit to the medbay left their jaws hanging open.

"I just don't understand."

"It's a miracle."

"A waste of a miracle."

For days it went on. For a time it burned a hole in Adora's stomach. The whispers, the looks... It was all the exact same as when she had first arrived in Bright Moon all those years ago. But, it was centered around Catra. And hearing about Catra was... _complicated_.

She couldn't make herself rest. Adora was terrified if she left or closed her eyes for even a second she would miss it. The nurses were at least decent. They wanted to help. The sympathetic eyes made her extraordinarily uncomfortable, but they didn't sneer the way the guards did.

It was only a matter of time.

It was only one snide remark away.

"Adora!"

She didn't remembered it happening. She-ra stood towering over a guard just outside the medbay. Her grip was so tight on the guard's uniform the pattern was ripped and torn. She was fuming. Their helmet was dented on the floor and shocked covered their face. Glimmer tried to interject, pulling helplessly on She-ra's over sized bicep. "Adora, stop. "

She-ra finally pulled her gaze from the frightened guard, down to Glimmer who in classic fashion showed no fear, the concern in her eyes was enough to make Adora want to weep, and beyond the whispers grew in the traffic of the hall. Pagers continued to buzz, gurneys continued on their way, and Adora...finally just Adora...faded down and released her grip. _Let go._

The second her grip loosened, Glimmer teleported them out. Out of the hall. Out of the castle. Into a field far from prying eyes. A gentle breeze ruffled through the grass and in the distance chimes sang of the midday. The world continued on. Adora sank to the ground once the sparkles had faded. Everything was fuzzy. The landscape looked like a painting that had been smudged. She could just barely make out Glimmer kneeling down. The haze washed over her, it rolled through in waves.

Each word came out on a pant, her eyes focusing onto Glimmer's, "I don't know, Glimmer...don't ask...I don't know."

It pained Glimmer to see her like this. One of her best friends on a line of fragile insanity. Adora's eyes were red with what she had assumed were tears. "Adora, are you alright?"

On any other day the princess of Bright Moon might think differently of a legendary hero toppling her over. Or pinning her to the ground. Or her hands around her throat. "What did I say?!" The roar made the princess tremble.

* * *

 

Bow drew closed the curtains, blocking out the rays of the afternoon moon. The room was quiet, but not uncomfortable. Shockingly he preferred it that way. It reminded him of his home with his fathers. It reminded him of times where things like this didn't happen.

_She hadn't noticed him notching the arrow. She didn't even think twice when she heard the snap of his bow string. She certainly didn't have time to make another choice. To make any other choice._

He pulled up a chair to the bedside. In the bed, Catra laid still. The gash along her arm since stitched together and get chest rose and fell in a constant rhythm. It was a calm state to be in. Bow forced himself to follow her breathing, holding onto anything stable.

_Bow was sure he could make out a grin from the creature. It made his skin crawl. The snap of his bow vibrated loudly in his ear. It was the loudest sound on the forest floor. It was a sound of panic. Immediate regret. The sound of a mistake._

It's as if gravity hung heavier in the room. A weight of storm clouds Bow had no experience with. He couldn't even bring himself to cry anymore. His head hung low between his knees as he laced his fingers behind his head.

_In all his years of fighting, in close quarters, and almost near misses, Bow had never struck something at near point blank range. As the war carried on he carried more of a lethal array than tricks. At the moment he wished it was a trick. When the arrow tip collided with the Shadow it appeared again, in the Shadow's bow, firing with the same speed. Uninterrupted._

"It should have been me. This should have been me."

_Catra had just enough time to breathe. A deep breath in and a clench of her fists before she took the metaphorical bullet, the literal arrowhead. It didn't hurt at first. Not really. She didn't think much about it. She didn't want to. The force barreled her back into the rebellion's archer. Hard enough to topple both of them over and as she laid, still, she saw it; the shaft stuck forward from her, the base buried and turning red, and how quickly the color drained from Bow's face as he saw it to. One hell of a shot._

"You're bleeding heart makes me want to be sick."

Bow bolted out of his chair. It rocked and crashed into the floor as he stood. "Catra!" He shrieked, "You're awake! You're okay! I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I should hav-"

Catra groaned, weakly rolling onto her side. She felt the nausea rise as she gagged, "If I have to listen to one more-" she held back her sick, gripping onto the edge of the bed. The room zoomed out of focus. "Sit down, Captain Obvious."

Cutting his rambling short, Bow knelt down to the bedside. Catra noticed how all his scratches had healed, but he desperately needed to shave. "If you had taken the shot. You wouldn't wake up. I...I can. So I did." She slid her hand down her stomach, her nails raking against the stitching, and her tail coiled around her front. "Even if-"

"They're okay." Bow took her hand gently, a grin growing wider across his face.

Honestly she tried to stop. In all fairness, she tried to warn him. She hacked half a heart of bile out of her that simply her gut couldn't keep. "They're? Like them? As in-"

Bow kept impressive composure, only slightly scrunched his nose but he just couldn't bring himself to talk. He raised two fingers. Catra snorted a laugh, but her eyes burned. She nearly wanted to cry with joy. The feeling struck her weirdly. Something different. Something new.

For the briefest moment there was silence. On the farthest side of the room the large window became decimated shards of glass on the floor. Gears whirrled loudly and plates of shining metal clicked and locked into place. Entrapta's pride and joy as well as Catra's favorite toy had a knack for impressive entrances, albeit less noisy. MECH was a brand new machine, outfitted with every explosive and firing magazine known to Etherian kind. It was a shimmering mechanical armored suit made of the strongest peristeel.

The helmet clicked open as Bow finally approached and the voice nearly knocked him off his feet again."It worked! Experiment 26 is a complete success!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me a lot longer to write than probably was necessary. Ah my apologize. But hey if you're still around and reading! That's awesome! Come bother me sometime on twitter. @princebow1


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